buttercup or crowfoot, common name for the Ranunculaceae, a family of chiefly annual or perennial herbs of cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Thought to be one of the most primitive families of dicotyledenous plants plant, any organism of the plant kingdom, as opposed to one of the animal kingdom or of the kingdoms Fungi , Protista , or Monera in the five-kingdom system of classification.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Ranunculaceae typically have a simple flower structure in which each flower part may be separate rather than fused into a single organ (see flower flower, name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive organs, applied to angiosperms only. A flower may be thought of as a modified, short, compact branch bearing lateral appendages.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Many buttercups are aquatic plants, hence the Latin name for the genus Ranunculus [little frog]. The family includes numerous familiar wildflowers and many cultivated ornamentals. Well-known representatives are the aconite aconite (ăk`ənīt), monkshood, or wolfsbane, any of several species of the genus
..... Click the link for more information. , anemone anemone (ənĕm`ənē) or windflower, any of the perennial herbs, wild or cultivated, of the genus
..... Click the link for more information. , baneberry baneberry, any plant of the small genus Actaea, north temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family) sometimes cultivated for the handsome (though poisonous) berrylike fruits.
..... Click the link for more information. , bugbane bugbane, any plant of the genus Cimicifuga, tall north-temperate perennials of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family). The white spirelike bloom has a rank odor that attracts flies, which pollinate the plant.
..... Click the link for more information. , clematis clematis (klĕm`ətĭs, kləmăt`ĭs), any plant of the large genus Clematis
..... Click the link for more information. (one of the few vine genera), columbine columbine (kŏl`əmbīn), any plant of the genus Aquilegia,
..... Click the link for more information. , globeflower globeflower, common name for any plant of the genus Trollius of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family), hardy perennials of north temperate meadows and swamps.
..... Click the link for more information. , hellebore hellebore (hĕl`əbôr), name usually for plants of the genus Helleborus
..... Click the link for more information. , hepatica hepatica (hĭpăt`ĭkə) or liverleaf, any plant of the genus Hepatica
..... Click the link for more information. , larkspur larkspur, any north temperate, Old World annual of the genus Consolida of the buttercup family. Consolida species were formerly classified in the genus Delphinium,
..... Click the link for more information. , love-in-a-mist love-in-a-mist, hardy annual garden plant (Nigella damascena) of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family), having finely cut foliage and blue or white flowers surrounded by a cluster of thready bracts.
..... Click the link for more information. , marsh marigold marsh marigold, perennial spring-blooming Old World and North American plant (Caltha palustris) of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family), found in wet places. It has rounded glossy leaves and large buttercuplike flowers of bright and shining yellow.
..... Click the link for more information. (the American cowslip), meadow rue meadow rue, any plant of the genus Thalictrum of the family Ranunculaceae ( buttercup family). Most are tall perennials (up to 7 ft/2.1 m high) bearing summer flowers with showy, pendent tassels of long stamens, greenish sepals, and no petals.
..... Click the link for more information. , and peony peony (pē`ənē), any plant of the genus Paeonia
..... Click the link for more information. . The largest genus, Ranunculus, comprises the buttercups and crowfoots, names often used interchangeably. Found throughout arctic, north temperate, and alpine regions, with species in the Andes and in subantarctic areas, this genus is characterized by glossy yellow flowers (hence the name buttercup) and deeply cut leaves (supposedly resembling crows' feet). Like some other members of the family, species of this genus contain an acrid juice that makes them unpalatable for livestock and in some species poisonous. A dozen or more species are common in every part of the United States. Among those cultivated for garden and cut flowers are some double-blossomed Old World species, e.g., the turban, or Persian, buttercup (R. asiaticus), valued for the variety of its colors (all but blue), and the creeping buttercup (R. repens), native to both North America and Europe. R. ficaria, of Eurasia, is the lesser celandine—a name more commonly applied to some plants of the poppy family, which it resembles. The buttercup family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Ranunculales.

buttercup

Aquatic buttercup (Ranunculus flabellaris)

(credit: (Top) Kitty Kohout from Root Resources, (bottom) Frances V. Davis)

Any of about 250 species of herbaceous flowering plants constituting the genus Ranunculus of the family Ranunculaceae. Buttercups are especially common in the woods and fields of the northern temperate zone. The turban, or Persian buttercup (R. asiaticus), is the florist's ranunculus. Among the many wild species are the tall meadow buttercup (R. acris) and common water crowfoot (R. aquatilis). Other members of the family Ranunculaceae are widely distributed in all temperate and subtropical regions. In the tropics they occur mostly at high elevations. Their leaves are usually alternate and stalkless and may be simple or much divided. The flowers may be radially symmetrical or irregular. The family includes such flowers as anemone, larkspur, marsh marigold, clematis, and hepatica (genus Hepatica).

buttercup

traditional symbol of wealth. [Plant Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 167]

See : Wealth

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buttercup

buttercup